Trump calls for Republicans to vote to release Epstein files

Monday 17 November 2025 - 08:30

By: Sahili Aya

Trump calls for Republicans to vote to release Epstein files

President Donald Trump urged House Republicans on Sunday night to vote in favor of releasing the full Justice Department files related to Jeffrey Epstein — a notable shift from his earlier attempts to halt the vote.

“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The statement marked a sharp departure from the president’s previous stance. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson had worked behind the scenes to prevent the vote from taking place, but a bipartisan coalition forced the issue. A discharge petition spearheaded by Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert gathered the required 218 signatures after she refused White House pressure to withdraw her name.

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, the lead Republican co-sponsor, said he expects a “deluge” of GOP support. He warned colleagues that choosing political loyalty to Trump over transparency could haunt them: “In 2030, he won’t be president, and you will have voted to protect pedophiles if you don't vote to release these files.”

The debate has intensified tensions inside the Republican Party, including between Trump and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been vocal on the issue.

The White House maintains that documents previously released in civil cases contain no allegations of wrongdoing by Trump. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said emails released by Democrats “prove absolutely nothing” except that Trump had “done nothing wrong.”

Still, Trump has dismissed those releases as a Democratic “hoax,” accusing “stupid” and “foolish” Republicans of falling into a political trap.

Even if the bill passes the House, it faces an uncertain future in the Senate — and possibly a veto from Trump himself unless Congress can muster a two-thirds majority to override it.